Bonum Certa Men Certa

Watchtroll, IAM and Other Patent Maximalists Lobby Donald Trump, Neil Gorsuch and Others for Patent Maximalism

The litigation lobby (which profits when others lose money in legal expenses) is still at it

Watchtroll great againSummary: The prosecution and litigation meta-industry wants more lawsuits, a lot more patents, and it is trying to convince the public -- and officials at the same time -- that this is a Good Thing

Making up for the gap left by Scalia's death, Trump recently nominated Gorsuch (who will probably be appointed given the lack of political resistance, even from the opposition party) for SCOTUS.



Gorsuch is so young for a Justice (broad track record should be a prerequisite, but not under Trump) and it means he has barely any experience when it comes to patents; nobody knows where he stands, probably because he almost never took a stance. What Gorsuch might therefore become is "his master's voice" (Trump), though it might be prejudiced to assume so (leave the baseless speculations to the patent microcosm).

IAM, a lobbying group (or think tank, or propaganda mill) disguised as a news site, republished this so-called "international report" about Gorsuch. As is typical, this wasn't composed by some analyst, academic, journalist or whatever but by a law firm, which hopes to project its own agenda onto Gorsuch. Peter L Brewer wrote:

On February 1 2017 President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to fill the US Supreme Court slot vacated by deceased Justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch is a native of Colorado who has served on the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit since 2006. Much is currently being written and reported about him, particularly with regard to his previous writings and writing style over the past 10 years. However, nothing has been said thus far about intellectual property. This may be because there is not much to say.

When it comes to patents, the Federal Circuit holds exclusive appellate jurisdiction. While it was thus not possible to locate a decision presented by a panel on which Gorsuch served addressing a patent question, he did prepare an oft-cited opinion which reviewed a question of personal jurisdiction in an IP dispute.


Gorsuch's views on trademarks were also speculatively covered by IAM in another so-called "international report" from the very same law firm.

"These aren't the first examples that we have given since Trump's inauguration and almost certainly these won't be the last."Watchtroll, in the mean time, is framing the whole debate as "pro" or "anti" patent rather than seeking sane (or rational) patent scope. The headline alone is loaded: "Will the Trump Administration Be Pro Patent?"

What they mean to ask is, "Will the Trump Administration Be Pro Litigation?"

Suffice to say, this is what law firms are hoping for and they are hoping to influence US politics so as to enrich themselves. We have no problem with free speech (we loathe censorship), but let it be understand what the above really is, how biased it is, and who it is coming from. These aren't the first examples that we have given since Trump's inauguration and almost certainly these won't be the last.

Recent Techrights' Posts

OSI's Blog is Still 100% Microsoft-Sponsored Attacks on Free/Open Source Software
OSI is a compromised, defunct body. It exists to serve the enemies of its original mission.
Red Hat is Suing to Protect From Patent Trolls
Why doesn't Red Hat (IBM) also lobby to eliminate all software patents once and for all?
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Probably Has No Choice But to Shut Down Its Office
Net Income -$686,366
Difficult Times at Soylent News
We hope that Soylent News will recover from this
Modern spyware and the problems of "Discord newspeak"
The history of modern instant messaging...
The Best Interface is Outdoors, It's Nature!
Not everything should be replaced by or emulated by digital devices
 
Crimes of the EPO Are Costing Everybody in Europe
Since virtually everyone in Europe is a user of software (almost nobody is a forest dweller like in countries near the equator), this impacts everybody
A Decade Ago Things Became So Bad at the European Patent Office (EPO) That Staff Jumped Out the Window During Working Hours
Colleagues saw the suicide; the EPO's response wasn't to tackle the causes but to bolt down the windows (like factories in China installing controversial 'suicide nets')
COVID-19 Ushered in Attacks on Human Rights and Things They Said They Had Introduced Temporarily Are Still in Effect/Operation Today
COVID-19 changed a lot of things
The Peril of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Illuminates the Dangers of Founders Leaving or Being Forced Out
Whatever you may think they stand for, you risk being fixated on what they originally were and perhaps what their Web sites still say
Quitting Academia When Its IT Systems Are Dominated by Clowns Who Outsource
It seems like a common trajectory
Why the Free Software Foundation (FSF) Owning or Renting Office Space Mattered
"In the long term, the FSF needs to own its future office space, but then the deadly risk is that the property ownership becomes the end goal rather than software freedom."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 09, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, September 09, 2024
Nearly Two Years After Quitting My Job
My colleagues and I were bullied by managers (grievance complaint got filed) who didn't even know what "Linux" was
Terms of Service (TOS) Under Scrutiny - Part XVIII - In Conclusion
Many activities can be done offline without having to sign anything
Links 09/09/2024: More Trash Balloons and Collapse of Real Estate Market in China
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/09/2024: ROOPHLOCH and More
Links for the day
Wrong Priorities at IBM
Lavish spendings on a 16-year contract for the most expensive place while firing tens of thousands of staff
Links 09/09/2024: LLMs Manipulated to Lie, More Corruption Found in COVID-19 Contracts
Links for the day
Terms of Service (TOS) Under Scrutiny - Part XVII - A Personal Perspective
The bottom line is, it's possible to reduce (albeit not entirely eliminate) how many things one signs, presses "OK" on and so on
[Video] Richard Stallman's New Talk in Germany Covers What Free Software Means, Why LLMs are "Bullshit", and Lots More (Web3 Summit 2024 Berlin)
Closing Keynote Day 3 - Dr. Richard Stallman - Web3 Summit 2024 Berlin
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 08, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, September 08, 2024
Always Taking Things Up a Notch
Nothing will stop us
[Meme] EPO Keeps Masking Its Corruption With "Diversity and Inclusion" (Hiring the Wife of a Friend of Someone Who Bribed His Way Into EPO Presidency)
chain of nepotism
Very Large EPO Applicants Now Threaten a Boycott of the EPO (the EPO Management is Trying to Bribe Them to Change Their Plans/Minds While Hiding It From Staff)
If corruption prevails to this extent, it will have severe international effect
Gemini Links 09/09/2024: Gemini Application Developer Guide and ROOPHLOCH 2024
Links for the day
Links 09/09/2024: 'Dieselgate' Criminal Trial Starts Late, Mass Layoffs at Volkswagen
Links for the da
On Losing the Job at Google After Talking About Committing Acts of Violence Against Colleagues
We still have a highly toxic element trying to enter and fracture our community
[Meme] Patent Monopolies as Bribes at the European Patent Office (EPO)
bloggers who report crime are being threatened with lawsuits by several law firms hired by the EPO to cover up crimes
New EPO Letter Expressing Concerns About EPO Violating Its Charter, Clearly Violating Rules (Possibly Bribing Siemens With Monopolies) and Granting Loads of Fake Patents to Make More Money
Why does the EU tolerate the EPO's crimes and how much longer will this go on for?
NIST is Threatening to Sue You With Patents on Mathematics (That Aren't Even Legal in the First Place) If They Don't Like You
They're asserting monopolies on mathematics
[Meme] EPO 'Hush Money' to Companies That Point Out EPO Breaks the Rules
A bribed doorman: "We have patent examiners, but if you say the right words, we'll bypass them for you"
Gemini Links 08/09/2024: WebDAV, OpenBSD, Pocket Reform, and More
Links for the day
Links 08/09/2024: Super Typhoon and Lots of Climate Journalism
Links for the day
Certificate Authorities (CAs) Are Serving the Authorities, Not You
The centralised CAs "model" is not working
Rage in the Propaganda Machine
There has never been a better time to quit social control media
The Free Software Movement Must Not Assume That Truth and Science Always Win
Sometimes the bad people and the liars get ahead
Peter Eckersley and 'Afterlife'
It's better to look after one's health at present than to pursue all sorts of perceived 'insurance' policies
Terms of Service (TOS) Under Scrutiny - Part XVI - When Radio is No Longer "Read-Only" (Listening Mode) Because Someone Listens and Sells Your Data
Who would want to put up with this?
Terms of Service (TOS) Under Scrutiny - Part XV - "Zoom's terms of service change sparks worries over AI uses" (and More)
Then they wonder why users get all grumpy?
redhat.com is Promoting Revisionism and Lies Regarding the Origin of the Term "Open Source"
debunked many times before
Software Patents Against GNU/Linux Again
Patent extortion against OpenShift and Red Hat Enterprise Linux
IBM is Cutting - Almost in Half - Its Office Space in Austin, So Expect Many Layoffs (RAs)
IBM reduces office space by 187,00 square feet or 37%
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 07, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, September 07, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day